Our Clinical Team

Program Director

Danielle LaFrance, M.S., BCBA
Doctorate in Progress – Endicott College – Institute for Behavioral Studies
Employee since July 2012
Developed the Internship Program in 2012

Ms. LaFrance began working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in 2001, when she began providing services to children diagnosed with developmental disabilities in home. She has since provided services to a broad range of individuals of different ages with varied diagnoses, in Canada, the United States, and through pro bono consultation in Brazil. She is passionate about providing the highest quality of services to our clients and strives to accomplish this by ensuring the use of evidence-based procedures in practice. She provides ongoing training, professional development, support, and oversight to all of our clinical team members and interns. She is deeply committed to the science of behavior analysis and has demonstrated this through her various research and scholarly activities, which include active attendance and presentations at professional conferences, participation in the peer-review process and publication, service to the Behavior Analyst Certification Board®, and most recently, enrollment in a doctorate program in behavior analysis.

Behavior Analyst

Charisse Lantaya, M.A., BCBA
Employee since January 2013

Ms. Lantaya began working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis as an in-home behavior therapist for young children with Autism in 2007. Since then, she has dedicated herself to expanding her knowledge of behavior analysis to better serve our clients and their families. She recently completed her master’s degree in behavior analysis at the California State University, Sacramento and she continually strives to ensure high-quality programming via her contact with the scientific literature and active attendance to professional conferences. Her main areas of interest include equivalence-based instruction and verbal behavior.

Senior Behavior Consultants

Careen Meyer, M.A., BCBA
Employee since February 2013

Ms. Meyer got her start in the field as an in-home therapist in 2006. In 2012, she began to participate in the Verbal Behavior Research Laboratory at California State University, Sacramento as a research assistant and project manager. She quickly fell in love with the science of behavior analysis and went on to complete a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis at the bachelor’s level in 2013. She also completed her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at the same institution in 2017. Ms. Meyer is passionate about the application of scientific principles to socially significant issues, and most enjoys the balance between academic and humanistic endeavors.

Jacquelyn Donahue, B.A.Masters in Progress – Arizona State University
Employee since March 2007

Mrs. Donahue obtained her bachelor’s degree in psychology at the California State University, Sacramento, where she met a professor who pointed her towards her career path in behavior analysis. While Mrs. Donahue has a long record of providing support to young, elementary-school-aged populations, she developed a passion for the field of behavior analysis through her work experiences and contact with the positive outcomes that can be achieved.

Robyn Coffey, M.S., BCBA
Employee since June 2015

Before getting her start in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2012, Mrs. Coffey was a middle school teacher (6th-8th grade) at a private school. In 2012, her sister-in-law introduced her to the field, and she subsequently began providing 1:1 direct services to children diagnosed with Autism in home. She has since worked with individuals ranging between the ages of two years to young adulthood, and in 2014, she obtained a Master’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. In 2015, she sat for the national certification examination is now a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Mrs. Coffey has a passion for providing evidence-based interventions, learning about new research related to verbal behavior and stereotypy, and teaching new skills to the other team members she works with at our agency.

Behavior Consultants

Amanda Chastain, M.A., BCBA
Employee since June 2013

Ms. Chastain began her career in the field in 2011. Since, she has completed her bachelor and masters degrees in Applied Behavior Analysis at the California State University, Sacramento, under the advisement of Dr. Caio Miguel. During her time with us, Ms. Chastain has worked as a Therapist, a Senior Therapist, and most recently, as a Behavior Consultant. Additionally, Ms. Chastain completed the agency’s Internship Program, accruing all of the required supervision hours to sit for the national certification examination. She is interested in training, verbal behavior, verbal mediation and complex problem-solving, choice, motivation, and teaching functionally appropriate and equivalent replacement behaviors. She is passionate about her clients and families, and regularly attends conferences and stays up-to-date on the latest research. She understands that each client is unique, presenting different skills and needs, and strives to provide individually-tailored services.

Andrea Housley, B.A.
Employee since September 2014

Ms. Housley began working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in 2006, after she started providing services to children diagnosed with developmental disabilities in home settings. She has since provided services to a wide variety of clients. She is passionate about providing the most effective services possible, all the while maintaining a very humanistic touch in her approach to service delivery. Ms. Housley obtained her bachelor’s degree in 2012. In future, she hopes to further her education by completing a masters degree with an emphasis in behavior analysis. Following the completion of her graduate studies, she hopes to obtain her BCBA so that she may continue to further her understanding of the scientific principles of behavior, and in turn, become that much more effective in serving our clients and their families.

Franchesa Quinliven, M.Ed.
Employee since July 2015

In 2009, Ms. Quinliven began working as an instructional aide for children diagnosed with developmental disabilities in a school setting. She initially started a master’s degree in school psychology, and subsequently changed her career path after she began providing services based on the principles of behavior analysis. She then pursued her master’s degree in Teaching, with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis from National University, completing this degree in 2014. Ms. Quinliven enjoys interacting with all of our clients and their families, while continuing to further her understanding of the science of behavior analysis and its applications in practice.

Kaitlyn Tamashiro, B.A., BCaBA
Employee since October 2013

Ms. Tamashiro received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2013. It was there she realized her passion for working with individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Her first position in pursuit of this career was as an in-home behavior therapist for children diagnosed with Autism. Ms. Tamashiro brought this experience and passion to the position of Therapist when she joined the H.O.P.E./Maverick team in 2013. She has since been promoted to the position of Senior Therapist, and more recently, to the position of Behavior Consultant. Additionally, she completed a BCaBA coursework sequence in 2016, through the Florida Institute of Technology, and obtained certification at the assistant level (BCaBA), demonstrating commitment to furthering her skill set within the field, as well as to providing high quality treatment.

Kimberly Mabanta (nee Magat), M.A.
Employee since February 2015

Mrs. Mabanta received her bachelor’s degree from California State University, Sacramento in 2014, where she majored in Psychology with a minor in Child Development, and obtained a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis. During her undergraduate career, she began working with individuals with developmental disabilities in a social setting. Her passion for this work lead her to seek a position as a Therapist in home, to help broaden her skills and expand her work experience across age groups. Her dedication to her clients and the field of behavior analysis have helped her excel in her positions as both Therapist and Senior Therapist at our agency, and she was recently promoted to the position of Behavior Consultant. Most recently, Mrs. Mabanta also obtained her master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from California State University, Sacramento, under the advisement of Dr. Megan Heinicke, and she has completed our agency’s Internship Program, accruing all the required supervision hours needed to sit for the national
certification examination (i.e., BCBA). She strives to continue furthering her skill set and is committed to making an impact in the field.

Tim Howland, M.A., BCBAEmployee since October 2013

Mr. Howland began taking coursework in behavior analysis at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) in 2007. In 2009, he became an in-home therapist in the UNR Early Childhood Autism Program under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Ghezzi. During this time (2009-2012) Mr. Howland also worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Laboratory for Contextual Behavior Science under the supervision of Dr. Steven Hayes, and on the Functional Analytic Research Team under the supervision of Dr. William Follette where he researched clinical applications of behavior analysis (e.g., Acceptence and Committment Therapy; ACT and Functional Analytic Psychotherapy; FAP) with adolescent and adult populations. In 2017, Mr. Howland earned a masters degree in applied behavior analysis from the California State University, Sacramento under the supervision of Dr. Caio Miguel in the Verbal Behavior Research Laboratory. He has since also obtained the national certification (BCBA). Mr. Howland draws upon his broad research and clinical background to provide services to all his clients, and enjoys applying theory to practice to develop sound treatment plans firmly rooted in the science of behavior.